Election Recounts; Ohio State University Shooter Killed

Democrat Chicanery
If you've been listening to Rush Limbaugh, you know that the Democrats are half insane over their loss in the November 8 elections.  The current strategy is to give Trump an aura of illegitimacy, as if he somehow stole the election, possibly with the help of Russian hackers taking over voting machines in the battleground states.  Election officials in the states targeted for a recount (Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan) state that there is no evidence of any hacking or vote fraud that would justify a costly recount.  In fact, Wisconsin officials have denied Jill Stein's request for a manual recount of votes, and she is preparing to sue over that.  Why this obnoxious leftist (Stein) is so adamant about forcing a recount isn't clear.

Other Democrat chicanery is to pressure Trump to adopt the Democrat agenda, at least in part.  This is all in the (false) spirit of "coming together as a nation," "reaching across the aisle," and curing the ill feelings among Americans.  Let's hope Trump isn't fooled (I doubt that he will be).  The Dims try to make the most of every situation, even after their recent historical loss that has reduced their elected numbers significantly.  So their strategy right now is to mitigate their losses in any way possible.

Ohio State Shootings/Stabbings
Some would-be mass murderer has attacked students at Ohio State University today, ramming some with his car, and slashing others with a knife.  He was soon dispatched by a gun-wielding cop, and is now quite dead.  Fortunately, the assailant was the only fatality. Around 10 injured students have been taken to the hospital.

Why would this lunatic try to kill a lot of innocent students who had done nothing to him?  Good question.  My bet is that he was a Muslim trying to collect his 72 virgins.

ELECTION AFTERMATH: Temper Tantrums on the Left

Now that Trump is the president-elect, millennials and other human detritus are throwing temper tantrums.  Fires are being set, windows broken, buildings and monuments vandalized.  People in California want to secede from the Union and establish their own version of Venezuela.  Some of the leftists are calling for Trump's assassination; black thugs are beating up Trump supporters on the street.  Read all the gory details here.

Trump's victory is immensely satisfying to me, but it has an added benefit:  It reveals just how rotten to the core the political left is -- how totalitarian, how vastly ignorant, how intolerant, and how prone to violence and hatred that they really are.

As for California seceding, I believe in the right of secession, like my great grandfather did when he fought for the South.  Secede California; you are as unAmerican as it gets.  No state in the Union is more out of step with the American people than La La Land, where no silly political/gender/sexual fad is beyond the pale.  The state flower is the California Poppy -- it should be the Opium Poppy.  The state bird is the California Quail.  It should be the Cuckoo Bird.  The whole damn state belongs in a strait jacket.  Secede already, rejoin Mexico.  You are a disgrace to human freedom.  And if you refuse to secede, the rest of the country should declare war to make you do it.

The only reason why I have not left California, my home for the past 62 years, is that I am no longer young, and two of my three sons live here, and all of my grandchildren.  However, I may have to reconsider that decision.  I hate this state.

The Erroneous Polls in the 2016 Election

The polls were largely wrong, as most predicted a Hillary win.  Many people warned us not to trust the polls, and not to get discouraged because of them.  The skeptics were right.  Lesson:  the only poll that counts is the actual election.  Never quit, never give up until it is truly over.  Polls are sometimes used to shape an election, not merely to predict its outcome.  I believe that is what happened in 2016.

Using Excel to Track the Vote 2016

Yesterday evening I followed the vote closely and carefully, using an Excel spreadsheet.  I put all the states in a column on the left, then to the right, their electoral votes.  The next two columns to the right were labeled Hillary and Trump.  When a state was called, I would put the electoral vote won in the winner's column.  Here is a portion of that spreadsheet to illustrate:

The black numbers are actual votes, the red numbers were my prediction, based on trends.  In this way I could see the direction of the vote.  Early on, I saw the direction was in Trump's favor, and that his winning it was indeed possible.  Being able to see this in black and white eased my mind considerably, and watching the vote became a lot less fearful and painful.

As the night wore on, all Trump needed was to win Michigan to put him over the top.  However, Pennsylvania closed first, and that put him over.

All the while, I kept up a running conversation with other Trump supporters on FaceBook, as well as checking the electoral maps on both the New York Times and Fox News websites.

The result of this was that I enjoyed the vote, instead of anguishing over it.  It enabled me to see, hours before the end, that Trump was headed for a win.

Thoughts on Election Day 2016

9:23 AM, PST:  Finally, the day is here.  Will Donald Trump win the presidency, or will Hillary Clinton?

My intuition still cannot foresee the eventual winner, as it did in 2008.  If anything, it favors Trump, slightly.  However, that may just be hopeful thinking.

In 2012, I was reasonably sure the American people would sweep the incompetent, radical college sophomore from office, and Romney would replace him.  I was shocked and horrified when Obama was re-elected.  Surely, I thought, the great majority of Americans could see what a disaster Obama had been.  Apparently, they did not.

Updates will be made throughout the day.

*******

Here is a quote many of us can identify with.  We understand much, but are in no position to advance our understanding.  So we watch, with great angst, while the largely uninformed electorate continues eroding our liberties and prosperity.

****

5:40 PM, PST -- Polls are closing in the east.  Per the New York Times electoral map, Trump has a early lead of 60 electoral votes to 40.  At this early time, that doesn't mean much.

6:03 PM, PST -- The Fox Election update page is updating faster than that of the NY Times.  It now shows Trump ahead by 139 - 97 electoral votes.  However, the left coast electoral votes have not yet been counted and they will all go for Hillary.

Waiting for the 2016 Election to Be Over

Today the FBI Director, James Comey, announced that finding another 650,000 government emails on a private laptop did not change his July opinion:  that Hillary Clinton did nothing to warrant an indictment.  Donald Trump immediately claimed that the system is rigged to protect Hillary, and I have no disagreement with that observation.

Right now I am sick of all the hype, October surprises, claims and counterclaims.  I just want this nightmare political  campaign  to be over.

Who will win?  I am prepared for the worst.  Would the Uniparty Establishment ever allow itself to lose?  Somehow, it all seems to be a done deal.  We will be stuck with that grinning, coiffed and pants-suited phony for the next four years.

I voted for Trump on Friday, using my absentee ballot.  Wifey did too.  She dropped off our ballots at the Registrar of Voters.  That's really all any of us can do, and pray that in the end, it will be enough.

CHICAGO CUBS WIN WORLD SERIES AFTER 108 YEAR WAIT

Before this week, the Chicago Cubs professional baseball team last won a World Series in 1908 -- 108 years ago.  Yesterday the long drought ended when the Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in ten innings of the 7th game of the series.  Though sick in bed, I had to watch it.  This was an American historical drama, finally playing out over a century and multiple generations of Americans.

And like any good tale, it involves heroes and legends, handed down from one generation to another.  One of the best involves the Cubs infield of 1908, a deadly trio dealing in double plays.  They were shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman Frank Chance.  Their story is immortalized in a 1910 poem written by a frustrated New York reporter, Franklin Pierce Adams, when the Cubs infield completed a double play to defeat the New York Giants.  The poem is titled "Baseball's Sad Lexicon."

Tinker, Evers and Chance,
Cubs Double Play Combo 1902 - 1912

These are the saddest of possible words:
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."
Trio of bear cubs, and fleeter than birds,
Tinker and Evers and Chance.
Ruthlessly pricking our gonfalon bubble,
Making a Giant hit into a double-
Words that are heavy with nothing but trouble:  
"Tinker to Evers to Chance."

Tinker, Evers and Chance are still legendary heroes of Cubs fans. Some of the 2016 fans left trinkets and pennants at Ever's grave, in hopes, perhaps, of conjuring blessings and support from beyond the grave for the Cubs 2016 chances. 

Items Left at Grave of Johnny Evers, Chicago Cubs
1908 2nd Baseman

Baseball!  This game has been the one cultural item that is present in American history for more than a hundred years -- the World Series began in 1903.

A lot has happened since the Cubs won their last World Series championship:  the sinking of the Titanic, World War I and II, television, the moon landings, Mars landings (of robots), heart transplants, personal computers and mobile phones, to name a very few.  So I wondered:  how did people work and live and get around town in 1908?  Well I couldn't find much detail, but I did find some information.  According to the site The Daily Press, here are some facts about 1908:

• The average life expectancy was 47 years.
• The average wage in 1908 was 22 cents an hour. The average worker made $200 to $400 a year.
• There were only 8,000 cars and only 144 miles of paved roads.
• Only 8 percent of the homes had telephones.
• Only 14 percent of the homes had bathtubs.
• Only 6 percent of all Americans had graduated from high school.
• Two out of every 10 adults couldn't read or write.
• More than 95 percent of all births took place at home.

But they had professional baseball!

Additional information on the famous infield trio can be seen on Find-A-Grave.  Do look them up! They are linked below.

1908 Cubs, left to right:  Tinker, Evers and Chance

Joe Tinker

Johnny Evers

Frank Chance

SUCH A BIG SICK BABY!

I have had a severe chest cold since Halloween and haven't felt up to blogging.  Getting better now.